The fifteenth BRICS summit in Johannesburg concluded with the second enlargement in the organization’s history.
Photo: REUTERS
It was to be expected, but it’s still exciting. The fifteenth BRICS summit in Johannesburg concluded with the second enlargement in the organization’s history. The desire to join the international club was expressed by some 23 states, but six have now been accepted: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia.
The decision came as a surprise to many. But it can be explained. For example, several other candidate countries (Greece, Turkey) are in some way enrolled in Western formats such as NATO. And all the “newcomers” are countries pursuing an independent policy. Or at least those who claim to be.
Thus, now in each of the “non-Western” parts of the world approximately the same number of BRICS members is formed: two: Latin America (Argentina and Brazil); three: Africa (Ethiopia, Egypt, South Africa); three: Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran); two: Asia (PRC, India) and also, as the main balancer of this complex system, Russia.
An alternative Western format, the G7, originated in the 1970s as a “community of the most developed countries” both in terms of industrial power and “level of democracy” (whatever that means). But now the attempts of the “seven” to rule the world correspond to the old Russian proverb: “for a ruble of ambition, for a penny of ammunition.” Even before the admission of the new six members, the BRICS members this year surpassed the G7 in terms of GDP. And, let’s say, even in the West, India is called “the largest democracy in terms of population”, that is, the United States, Europe and Japan will not be able to teach our bloc from the position of their “moral superiority”.
And now, with the great expansion of the BRICS, the dominance of the non-American (and, more broadly, anti-liberal) model of development is becoming overwhelming. If the United States and its satellites do not start a big war somewhere, within 10 years their rule will end quietly, as will the COMECON and the Warsaw Pact, military-political associations of socialist countries under the auspices of the USSR. . , ended quietly a third of a century ago. Not because one of the two blocks lost on the battlefield, but because it could not cope with a more profitable model.
It’s just that now we have changed places: the “countries of the free world” are BRICS, and the “seven” and similar pro-American formats are totalitarian regimes pathetically calling themselves “democracies” (however, the former GDR also had the word “democratic” in the name, so is a multi-party system – in general, anything can be declared, the essence is another matter).
And yet, questions remain about the “second expansion of the BRICS”. With all due respect, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia cannot be classified as giants either in terms of demographic opportunity or industrial power. But they have a “superpower”. It is about financial resources and, most importantly, the ability to manage them; It is not for nothing that skyscrapers of new international financial centers are growing in the open field (or rather, in a hot desert) on the Arabian Peninsula.
So. Few people know that the BRICS have their own supranational financial body, a kind of answer to the IMF. It is called “New Development Bank” (NDB, New Development Bank). It is formed from the contributions of the participating countries, finances strategic projects within the BRICS, and also, according to a rather complex scheme, interacts with continental banks that help developing countries, such as the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Bank. Investment in Infrastructure. There are similar financial institutions in Africa.
That is, from now on, small countries will not be able to give in to the IMF, which links loans to political demands: “more liberalism, less state intervention in the economy” (the results are often sad; let’s remember Russia in the 1950s). 1990).
But now an alternative is emerging: the BRICS Bank (and similar non-Western institutions). Africa itself is in chronic need of investments, investments in infrastructure, and the BRICS Bank, where there is a “voting package” from the largest African economies, a reliable guarantee that money will be allocated specifically for business, and not as “political loans.” .
But even the BRICS Bank in its current form has unlimited resources. And here financial support from new members, the Arab countries, would be very useful. It is also beneficial for them: after all, all the other great powers among the shareholders of the BRICS Bank will be the guarantor of the safety of the investments that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will make through this mechanism.
However, this remains a matter of the future. As well as the upcoming 16th BRICS meeting, which is expected in August 2024 in Kazan. Considering that the membership of the new six participants officially starts on June 1, 2024, it can be assumed that the Kazan summit will be held in a new and expanded capacity.
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